Emily's Return
by MyCriminaIMind
Summary: Emily can't wait to come back to the BAU, but she's still uneasy about the whole thing. She runs into a few people on her way into the bullpen who help her realize her purpose.


Emily Prentiss couldn't wait to officially rejoin her team, but there was still an unsettling feeling in her stomach. It'd been over four years since she left the BAU. Sure, she had been back to help save JJ and to catch that copy-cat killer (not to mention those girls' nights that she wouldn't dare speak about even _if_ she remembered them). But this? This was much different. It wasn't just a couple of days; it was permanent. As permanent as anything Emily could muster.

After her ordeal with Doyle, Emily felt a sense of urgency—a sense of longing—that nothing could satiate. She just couldn't seem to get back to her old self, and it wreaked havoc on her mental health. Emily desperately craved a sense belonging, yet her happiness was an elusive feeling that slipped from her grasp the moment she felt a semblance of stability.

There was Paris… my God there was Paris. Even for just a night, Emily felt a security and a pleasure that she had never thought possible. But it couldn't last. JJ had to go back to work and her family.

Then eventually she found Mark who was wonderful, incredibly supportive, and made her feel safe. He knew her better than she knew herself sometimes, and he always kept an eye out for her. But she knew she needed a fresh start when she returned to DC.

Needless to say, Emily was hoping for the best but expecting the worst. It was how she approached every situation, and somehow it was the worst scenario that always seemed to happen. She sat in her car for 10 minutes in the lot at Quantico trying to collect herself.

As she walked through the entrance, there was a look on the security guard's face that she couldn't quite place. He was new (at least since Emily had left), so that would explain his furrowed brow as if he was trying to put the name to the face. But there was something else.. It was the same look that she got after returning to stop Doyle. That didn't make sense, though, because she hadn't died in five years. Her confusion only compounded when he started speaking, "Agent Prentiss as I live and breathe. It's an honor to have you back in the building, ma'am."

"Thank you, have a nice day." Emily mumbled as that was all she could muster. "An honor? Me?" she thought. "That couldn't possibly be right. Sure I've been leading Interpol for the past few years, but he's never even met me."

She hastened her pace, trying to get up to the seventh floor-her safe place. As she got on the tightly packed elevator, though, she started hearing whispers.

"I can't believe she's coming back. She's a legend." "I know. Do you think she's as amazing in person as she is on paper?"

The damn elevator was inching along far too slowly for Emily's liking, and with every "ding" her pulse was getting faster and faster. She was sure her face was getting redder by the minute, too.

"Excuse me, Agent Prentiss?" She turned around to see a small girl, no older than 15, looking at her with wide blue eyes. "I've overheard my parents talking about you," the girl began, much to the embarrassment of her mother who Emily recognized from just a few floors above the BAU. The young girl continued, "And I've decided that I want to be just like you when I get older. I've already started looking over criminology text books, and I've read all of David Rossi's novels. This summer I'm also trying to take a class at the community college. You're so brave and so inspiring. Hopefully one day, I'll be able to work with you." She looked over at Emily beaming with excitement and pride.

Emily was dumbfounded. It was one of the few times in her life when she didn't know what to say. "How ironic," she thought. "You're fluent in six languages but you can't find the words to respond to this girl." In her defense, of course, this was one of the kindest things that anyone had ever said to Emily. At last she breathed a "thank you" and she gave the girl a warm smile.

A moment passed before Emily turned again toward the teenager. "Criminology text books already?" she asked incredulously. "You must be pretty serious about the FBI" Emily continued, winking at the girl's mother. "Serious is an understatement!" she responded. "I've even started training for the physical tests. My parents have to remind me to finish my other homework too, but it's not as interesting. I can't help it if Romeo and Juliet are too thick-headed not to talk to each other. Or if William Henry Harrison wasn't smart enough to put a coat on during his inauguration. And when am I going to have to know the quadratic formula? Not to mention..." The teen was cutoff by the "ding" of the elevator which had finally reached the seventh floor.

Emily stuck her arm out, preventing the doors from closing. "Sorry kid, this is my stop. But if you ever want to talk criminology, or if you want to know anything about the BAU give me a call!" Emily gave the teen her card. "And I'm so sorry, but I never asked your name?" "Oh," the girl responded with a smile, "it's Alex!"

"Great, Alex. Keep studying hard-you never know when that knowledge of Romeo and Juliet will help you break a case. I can tell you're a smart kid. Keep it up, and I'm sure you'll make your way to the BAU someday."

Alex couldn't stop herself from beaming. "Thanks Agent Prentiss! Have a great day!"

"You too Alex!" Emily managed to get out as the elevator doors closed.

Walking into the bullpen, Emily felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders. Maybe she really does have a purpose here. Maybe, after all this time, she was coming home.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt something fall on her head. "OW. What the?!" But as she looked up she saw Reid with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry Em! Physics Magic!" he shouted from across the room.

She could only laugh as she remembered the same thing happening all those years ago when she was still starting out at the BAU. JJ, Rossi, Reid, Lewis, and Garcia were chuckling too. Emily looked around and felt it-that sense of belonging. Perhaps it was coming back after her time away. Or maybe it was seeing her impact on the security guard, those young agents, and Alex. Whatever the reason, Emily knew she made the right decision by coming back to DC. She was truly home.

The laughter was interrupted, though, by Hotch stepping from his office with a concerned look on his face.

"We have a case. Wheels up in thirty."


End file.
